Radeon X1950 XT

The X1950 XT is a powerful graphics card. Its core runs a mere 25 MHz slower than that of the X1950 XTX, and its memory runs a full 250 MHz (effective) faster than the X1900 XTX. It is on par with the previous X1900 XTX champ and is fast enough to run at high resolutions with nice eye candy. It will handily beat a 7950 GT, and even best a 7900 GTO or 7900 GTX at most things.

The X1950 XT is a great deal at the $230 price point, and I've seen it go for this price on Newegg. Many are $250 or higher though, and at that price, it begins to tread too closely to the 8800 GTS, which is more powerful.

Best PCI-E Card For ~$300

GeForce 8800 GTS (320mb version)

The GeForce 8800 GTS is the little brother of the 8800 GTX, and both are based on the same Nvidia next-generation DirectX 10 GPU. The 8800 GTS is slightly crippled compared to the GTX, but it will still beat powerhouse cards like the dual-GPU 7950 GX2 in many cases. At the $300 price point, this card really brings unheard of performance for the price. It isn't completely slower than its 640-Mb 8800 GTS cousin, which costs almost $100 more.

Best PCI-E Card For ~$390

GeForce 8800 GTS (640-Mb version)

The GeForce 8800 GTS is the little brother of the 8800 GTX, and both are based on the same Nvidia next-generation DirectX 10 GPU. The 8800 GTS is slightly crippled compared to the GTX, but it will still beat powerhouse cards like the dual-GPU 7950 GX2 in many cases. The biggest downside to the 8800 GTS 640 Mb is that its cheaper 320 Mb cousin offers very close performance for much less scratch.

Best PCI-E Card For ~$550

GeForce 8800 GTX

The fastest graphics card in the world - that's exactly what the GeForce 8800 GTX is. It's also the most expensive, but it's no surprise that ultimate performance comes with a price, is it?

In all honesty, the $250 cheaper 8800 GTS 320 Mb would probably serve anyone well, but if you've got money to burn, and will only settle for the best of the best, this is the card for you.